I'm on Twitter now. Put it off for many months but am enjoying it so far. Some "essential tools," "twitter links," and "benefits." Twitter in plain English.
I've opened an Amazon bookstore for my blog. I'm building up all my recommended books there. When you buy through it I get something back.
Bob Franquiz: 10 things churches could learn from Disney.
Tim Chester: When Gideon gave a seminar on church planting.
Audio/Video of the Multi-Site Exposed conference in Seattle.
These are the 5 blogs I always read. I read every post. I often print the posts from these blogs to read offline and add to my article files. These are all church pastors or planter/pastors.
Drew Goodmanson
Jonathan Dodson
Tim Chester
Jeremy Pryor
Joe Thorn
I've been out-of-pocket for a couple of days, so here's a post with just a little bit of Music Monday, Lots-o-Links, and National Poetry Month.
MUSIC MONDAY
A new video from Hot Chip. Pretty cool...
In case you didn't know, here's the reason wearing red jock straps over your pants is SO popular now...
LOTS-o-LINKS
Driscoll loves the ESV Study Bible.
John Piper: Preaching as Concept Creation, Not Just Contextualization
I love this clip. If you ever need to work on your business card envy, here's how. (WARNING: A little colorful language. This clip is for Mommies and Daddies only.)
NPM '08
Love this stuff from Borders Open Door Poetry.
Check out The Poetry Center of Chicago.
The SBC Voices blog madness game is over on Monday night and I'm losing. Yes, losing. Tom Ascol's blog has pulled into a solid lead. You may know Tom as the guy who leads Founders Ministries. I know him as a friend, and I would gladly lose to his site without a fight...normally. But Tom has called me out, made fun of me and my best friend (no one makes fun of Joe's sports ignorance but me!), and it's time to show Tom the door. GO VOTE NOW!
Here are a few reasons to vote for Reformissionary and not Tom Ascol...
1. Tom Ascol has bad hair, less hair. The Reformissionary has good hair, more hair. The difference.
2. The $50 gift certificate to Amazon.com won't help Tom much because I don't think they carry many "Large Print" books for "older" eyes.
3. Tom decided to "reject my shot" through the magic of photoshop. That was smart since that's the only way he could reject my shot.
4. This is an ACTUAL PHOTO of my last one-on-one game with Tom. Consider Tom posterized...
FINAL UPDATE: VOTE NOW!
UPDATE: You did it! I made the final four of the contest I mentioned below. The final four voting is already underway until Monday night. This is the very last contest, and I need your vote! The two contests can result in a total of $100 in books for seekers and skeptics. Please go vote!!!
_____
Original Post from earlier tonight...
There is another blog contest (east division, vote Reformissionary). This
one is much the same as the first and the round ends tonight! I'm 20 votes down and need many very quick votes to possibly receive ANOTHER $50 gift certificate!!! All this begging will be over soon, I promise. But for now, GOOOOOO!!! VOTE!!!
Please continue to VOTE for my blog. I NEED your vote, if you haven't voted yet. The Southern Seminary students seem to be rallying and trying to team up to beat this blog. You, my wonderful readers, cannot let that happen. You can, with two clicks, put this game away today. SO PLEASE GO VOTE!
My campaign promises...
1. I promise that your vote for me will cause Joe Thorn to grow hair again. A vote for me is a vote for a handsomer Thorn. A very large promise indeed, but it's now the main thrust of my campaign. (You can pretty much take this one as my "lie." Every real campaign lies and this one is no different. But it would be a beautiful thing, eh?)
2. As I said before, I promise to use the winnings, a $50 gift certificate, to buy Tim Keller books for skeptics and seekers in my neck of the woods. This promise is slightly more realistic than the hair thing, and maybe even more significant.
3. I promise, if you vote for me, to put up a victory video that will shock the world. Suggestions about what should be in the video can go in the comments of this post. I will take them under advisement. Email submissions are also acceptable, and will be sure to keep your great and funny ideas a secret.
As one last incentive to get out the vote, please enjoy the official Reformissionary campaign song...
After a decisive vote last week, I NEED YOUR VOTE AGAIN! I need more votes than before! Go to the Said at Southern blog, scroll down a bit and vote for Reformissionary.
Please, everyone vote! It will result in a $50 gift certificate to Westminster Seminary Bookstore where I promise to use the money to buy copies of Keller's The Reason for God to give away to seekers and skeptics. A vote for me will help someone who doesn't know Jesus to know Him for the first time. Vote now!
Ok, so I told you I don't care to be the winning blog over at the Said at Southern NCAA tournament-like thingy. Now I want to win. If my blog gets the most votes then I get a $50 gift certificate to Westminster Bookstore online. That means I NEED YOUR VOTES! I'm currently last in the Midwest division, and wasn't planning to even mention it again here. But free books takes this to another level. Please go vote for me so I can get some free books. C'mon! The Reformissionary needs you, it will only take a moment, and there's no registration or anything to vote. Go HERE now and vote for Reformissionary in the Midwest division.
I'm trying to make time to blog on the changes coming in my local church, and especially focus on some evangelism stuff I'm working to begin soon. Sorry it's taking so long, but it's been a nutty last few weeks. Maybe I'll blog on the nuttiness as well. Might be therapeutic for me.
"Alcohol, Acts 29 and the Missouri Baptist Convention" is a bunch of information put out by some Missouri Baptists that has finally proven, without question, that some people will never get it because they spend all their time trying to get worked up over extra-biblical issues. It's actually a very funny read for those of us who see how ridiculous it all is.
In Timothy Keller news, the Washington Post's Michael Gerson has a review of The Reason for God. It's a good one. USA Today quotes Keller, Driscoll and others on "Has the 'Notion of Sin' Been Lost?" (via Stet)
"Parks and squares aren't a luxury, but an essential feature of the urban infrastructure."
Bob Franquiz is looking to only work 4 hours a week. I've perused the book, and it looks interesting enough.
Speaking of books, how about the 2008 Christianity Today Book Awards. I picked up the "The Church/Pastoral Leadership" category winner The Call to Joy & Pain by Ajith Fernando at last year's Desiring God Conference. I like Ajith's writings and the topic was intriguing. It got buried in a stack of books, but is back on my "to read" shelf.
This looks VERY interesting to me: The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas With Pictures.
The top 80 church websites (because 80 is a nice round number). :)
Oh that more of us would do what they are doing in Austin for city-wide church planting.
It won't be Longfellow until National Poetry Month. It's my Gioia to blog on poetry every April. Keats your eyes open for more very soon.
Quick God Story: My family is still sick, sick, sick. Unbelievable virus we are dealing with. We were all feeling better and now most of us are getting symptoms back. Our youngest now has 103+ temp again. Ugh. But all praise to God for this story. Saturday afternoon my debilitating fever and aches stopped and I had tons of energy Saturday night and plenty for the task this morning. I mean I went from the worst day so far on Saturday morning, and then full of energy and vigor Saturday evening. Then soon after gathered worship today my fever came back as did my aches and terrible cough (I didn't cough once during the sermon). There may be some medical explanation for why I had such a dramatic health hiccup, but I know WHO is getting the credit. I was truly singing this morning, "How Great is Our God."
Speaking of how sick I am, it would really help me turn this frown upside-down if someone would present me something this awesome with Joe Thorn's likeness on it. It would make my year! (HT)
When was the last time you wondered how Michael Foster would approach church planting differently? Exactly. And he promises to elaborate. I'm demanding he gets on it asap.
You need to make your way to the Vintage Jesus Newsroom, where Steve Camp goes for his devotional time.
Poythress, The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses, online free.
PastorHacks is into Jott (and Pinger). I've been using Jott for a while now with great success and productivity. I think Joe Thorn told me about Jott (I had to say that because he will speak harshly to me this week if I don't mention it. I don't like it when Hobbits get mean, especially when I'm sick.).
I may have mentioned this before, but Piper/Bethlehem's accountability stuff is worth checking out.
You should check out Abraham Piper's crazy little experiment of a blog. Alas, he is his father's son. (Only four more words.)
Speaking of numbers, Baptist Reformed types will probably not like Scot McKnight's new article, "The 8 Marks of a Robust Gospel." Why? It's one short. I actually haven't read it yet, but McKnight is always worth reading (even when tragically wrong!). No heckling me please. I'm sick.
Here's Eugene Peterson at the 2007 Writer's Symposium by the Sea (isn't that where George McFly first kissed that chick from Howard the Duck?). The story he tells about Bono is worth the whole thing. (HT)
The Reason for God website is now up. There's a video of Keller there and some sermon links. I'm most excited about the four page "Reader's Guide" PDF. And how awesome is this, Keller on tour, including 2 Chicago locations...
NORTHWESTERN VERITAS
March 6 | 6:00PM - 7:30PM
Ryan Auditorium
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO VERITAS
March 7 | 7:00PM - 8:30PM
Kent Chemical Laboratory
1020 East 58th St.
New Keller audio from City Life Boston: "A Broken Spirit" & "Encounter With God".
Time Magazine: Rob Bell is "The Hipper-Than-Thou Pastor."
A Missouri Baptist Acts 29'r talks "View and Brew." He (Kevin Larson) has also been interviewed by Tom Ascol.
Angela Booth's top writing blogs of 2007.
Scott Hodge talks about "Fuel," leadership training at The Orchard.
Joe Thorn has found the secret to a better prayer life, and it's probably not what you think.
The curse of knowledge is only one great reason to read Made to Stick.
Some links I wanted to get out there right away...
Guy Kawasaki interviews Fake Steve Jobs. Funny stuff. (FSJ blog)
Resurgence goes Greek: Re:Greek. Awesome resource.
I don't think I've linked before to Joe Thorn's excellent Six Rules of Cultural Engagement.
My kids can't stop watching this...
More here...
Reformissionary Update: For some time I've wanted to add to my web presence by grabbing a "reformissionary" specific domain or two. Reformissionary.com has been taken for some time by someone who doesn't seem to be associated with the term. But I have now purchased reformissionary.org and reformissionary.net, both of which forward you to stevekmccoy.com. Enjoy.
You can finally come out of your prayer closet: Joe Thorn is blogging again.
Gary Rohrmayer put up part 3 of Engaging in More Spiritual Conversations.
Drew Goodmanson is Transforming Cities. Great stuff.
Ligon Duncan on Together for the Gospel, and Sam Storms adds a little more to the baptism/communion discussion.
Every few months I feel like I need this again: John Piper's "Running with the Witnesses."
Watch the PGA Championship online for free 9am-7pm each day. Nice
Drew Goodmanson gives a nice history of his church's website, Kaleo, through version 5. Helpful in thinking about church websites.
"Church Squared" by Stetzer
We are hoping to make a train trip into Chicago again before school begins. Here are two videos of previous trips...
A handful of things that you need to know, hear, see, or read...
- Tonight I will probably put up a single post that I will update throughout Molly's surgery and hospital stay. I will try to keep updates at the top of the page with time stamps on the page so you can read what has happened as they happened. The hospital says it has wifi throughout, so being online and live-blogging the next few days shouldn't be much of a problem.
- Please start immediately downloading Stereogum's tribute to Radiohead's OK Comupter. It's free and includes some great bands like Dave Bazan's Black Cloud, Cold War Kids, and Twilight Sad. It's not Radiohead, but it's still fun. By the way, they aren't going to leave these free mp3's up forever so grab them asap. Couldn't wait for Music Monday on this one.
- JJ Abrams. 1-18-08. Nuff said.
- Drew Goodmanson on The Gospel Awakening (file through his posts on triperspectivalism too).
- John Piper on Why We Should Have Courage to Speak About Christ.
- Gary Rohrmayer on Sharpening Your Evangelistic Skills.
- I don't know if I've mentioned it before, bu there is now a version of 2 Ways to Live for kids.
- Darrin Patrick's The Journey Church has done a service by providing this Keller-oriented Religion and the Gospel.
9 Marks, the very helpful ministry of Mark Dever and Matt Schmucker from Capitol Hill Baptist in DC, now has a blog. Check out Mark Dever’s introductory post. From a 9 Marks email...
Our intended audience, as with most of 9Marks material, is pastors, church leaders, and seminarians. At the same time, we hope that all Christians become more interested in church matters, because we believe the local church is the focal point of God’s plan for displaying his glory to the nations. That includes all of us who profess faith in Christ.
Blog contributors will consist of Mark Dever, Matt Schmucker, Jonathan Leeman, and the 9Marks lead writers, as well as several like-minded pastors and occasional guests. For the time being, we thought we’d try opening the blog to public comments. Hopefully it can be used as a place of honest inquiry and discussion regarding pastoring and leading local church life.
Allelon - "a movement of missional leaders" -- They have a website which has a number of resources, but I'm really loving Alan Roxburgh's netcast (especially the audio podcast) the most. There are things said that I don't like or agree with, but in general this is a great podcast for seeing the emerging missional church for what it is and what it claims to be in different locations. The interview with Steve Taylor is really great.
Theology Unplugged (TUP) is a podcast by some Dallas Seminary profs. They say, "The uniqueness of TUP is that we speak on theological issues of the day with clarity, honesty, and openness. TUP allows the listener to make informed judgments on the most important theological issues today." Their seven part series on the emerging church is a great example of that. I'm through the first three episodes and I'm pretty shocked at how well they do in trying to understand the emerging church. Well worth hearing. (HT: Internet Monk Radio)
Peter Leithart finds ways of saying things that just make sense to me...
One of my recurring frustrations with recent debates in the Reformed world is a widespread failure of theological imagination. Too many seem to operate on the assumption that we have everything already figured out; we have all possible categories and positions ready to hand. All we need do is deploy these categories on whatever happens our way. It'll fit, Procrustes says.
Thus, it is seriously proposed that someone is either on the road to Rome or the Road to Geneva - with no possibility of a third (or fourth, or fifth) destination, with no possibility that there might be something in between (though in between is where much of the Christian world lives). And if I suggest that we Reformed might still have something to learn from the Bible about justification, then I must be Rabbinic or Roman Catholic - there simply is no other alternative.
The Evangelical Outpost (Joe Carter) wonders why Southern Baptists would create boundaries with alcohol that would exclude Jesus from leadership in the convention. He asks, "Can we be more ethical than Jesus?"
Darryl Dash hears Tim Keller and blogs: Tim Keller on Spiritual Fruit and Ministry.
Desiring God Blog: 25 Ways to Help Kids Love to Read
Drew Goodmanson on Missional Eldership.
Miniature Earth -- "If the world's population were reduced to 100, it would look something like this..."
English 101 (we all make mistakes, but some of us make too many!)
Some Videos...
Children See, Children Do...
Doll Face...
Stop Motion Beatbox...
Scot McKnight gives some good advice to bloggers, er, authors who blog. Point #5 is outstanding. :)
Geez, yesterday was a nightmare with this blog. It was down all day and I did nothing that could have caused it. I was emailing both Typepad and GoDaddy (for domain issues) about it and they were both pointing the finger at the other one. Ugh. Finally at 1:30am this morning the GoDaddy people were able to do something to fix it, though I'm still not convinced it was their problem in the first place.
So nice to have the site back up, especially since I will be blogging this week from the Baptist Identity Conference at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee.
Some places worth going and things worth reading...
Michael Spencer on Francis Chan's Gospel Presentation
Drew Goodmanson on Conducting a Church Missional Survey
NT Wright at CT: Mere Mission
Free Hugs
Fast Company on Creative Class Struggle
Pan's Labyrinth
Interview with Bob Roberts
I should have been linking this blog for some time now, but just realized I don't have him on my blog list. Please keep up with Steve Addison's blog, World Changers. It's consistently fantastic.
Time for a roundup of random stuff.
1. I've started a Bible study series at our church based on Kris Lundgaard's book, The Enemy Within (@ Monergism). Lundgaard's book is based on two of John Owen's works on sin. I read it a few years ago and rereading it for this series. Very helpful book. Justin Taylor points to some of Lundgaard's audio messages on The Enemy Within.
2. Watched the movie Click with my wife yesterday. It was moderately funny. Best part of the movie is what Adam Sandler does to David Hasselhoff (there's a bad word here, so don't watch if you can't handle it).
3. Speaking of video, the Smiling Addiction video is great. It's an original piece (including original music) by Crossroads Community Church in GA. I think Joe Thorn first pointed me to this.
4. It looks like Paradox, a music venue at Mars Hill Seattle but not run by Mars Hill, is no more. This article doesn't really give Mars Hill's perspective in a good light, but the news was worth mentioning.
5. Have you taken a trip on Line Rider yet? Throw on a scarf and go!
7. Tim Keller wants to help you know how to "Work." Great sermon. Keller provides Dorothy Sayers' definition of the biblical doctrine of work: "Work is the gracious expression of creative energy in the service of others." Other TK Resources.
Cory Miller asked me 5 Blogging Questions. I answered them. Cory has them up now at ChurchCommunicationsPro. See how other bloggers responded.
I want to update you on a few things concerning the blog and life.
One of my main goals with the blog over the last few months has been to only blog when I want to, and to keep from encouraging comment threads that end up wasting my time. For the most part I've stuck with that idea and it's made the blog an extension of my life rather than a power over my life. I haven't been writing much of my own thought lately, not much in terms of original content. But I'm okay with that right now. I hope that will change soon, but it has to mesh with what I'm doing in my local church.
We went to visit my parents after church on Sunday. I've mentioned before that my Mom has cancer. Last week they found out the chemo is working and shrinking the cancer. It's hard to say what that will mean for the next few weeks or months, but it's the first piece of good news we've had since she was diagnosed. Thanks to all who are praying. The picture is of my mom and sister. My sister colored her hair, my mom (who is losing her hair) is wearing a Halloween wig.
I'm halfway through preaching Colossians and loving it. It's just what I need, and I'm thankful to God for what I'm learning. I hope our church is getting the same thing. The one thing I haven't done much of lately is listen to sermons. My wife and I used to listen to a sermon together on Monday mornings. I would be in my office and she would be working on the house. But I moved my home office to our basement so we are disconnected. I miss those mornings listening together to guys like Matt Chandler, Mark Driscoll or Tim Keller.
My sons and I are really enjoying the football season so far. The Bears are exceeding all expectations and look like they are equipped to go the distance. The Monsters of the Midway are monsters again. Beware!
Have you enjoyed a good cigar lately? Why not? I've been learning a lot about cigars lately and have enjoyed one or two. Delightful. Pick up this one, or maybe this one.
Last let me mention some things I've been enjoying lately. Richard Lovelace's book, Renewal as a Way of Life, has been a great encouragement so far. A very thought provoking book. Ray LaMontagne's new CD, Till the Sun Turns Black, is good. iMonk's podcast has been a nice diversion. So has Writers on Writing.
By the way, the iTunes 7 upgrade sucks for Windows users. Then they put up a fix (7.0.1) which merely sucks less. Distortion. If you haven't upgraded, stay where you are for now.
Mark Driscoll has a nice, long post on what's happening in his life & at Mars Hill. It's an interesting post with a look at a few people who are throwing stones at him, the growth issues they face at Mars Hill as well as the number of people they have in various recovery groups, and stuff he is writing.
Whatever you think of Driscoll, it's good to keep up.
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